Heat exchangers have for a variety of applications that are well known, and can include a number of different forms. For instance, oil coolers for internal combustion engines often take the form of a cylindrical housing that contains a tube bundle with a generally cylindrical cross section. The tubes are often packed in a hexagonal pattern such that each tube is surrounded by up to six other tubes in a pattern well known in the art. The tube bundle is often supported by baffles that are arranged in the housing to create a serpentine flow path between the inlet to the housing and the outlet. While many heat exchangers of this form have been produced for years and have performed well, there remains room for improvement.
One potential problematic area lies with constructing a heat exchanging oil cooler according to the conventional wisdom, which includes a circular cross section tube bundle housed in a cylindrical housing. The problem relates to ensuring adequate heat exchanging capacity, while fitting the oil cooler within an available space envelope with regard to a specific engine application. In other words, some newer engine applications can place substantial limitations on the available space for an oil cooler to occupy, while still meeting oil cooling performance requirements and pressure drop requirements.
Another potential issue that is often on the minds of design engineers relates to how to improve heat exchanging performance while simultaneously reducing costs. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that cost can be reduced in a number of ways, including a reduction in materials, simplification in manufacturing techniques, and other factors known in the art. Strategies for improving heat exchanging performance remains elusive, and these problems are compounded by ever present pressures to reduce or hold the line on cost.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.